Reborn in the Apocalypse: A Commoner's Survival Log

After breakfast, Zhou Yang put the dishes and chopsticks into the dishwasher, then took the things he had prepared in advance for tomb sweeping and went out.

Although it was not yet 7 o'clock, there were already many vehicles on the road, most of which were heading towards the cemetery.

This year's Qingming Festival was gloomy again, as if shrouded in a thick gray curtain, making people feel depressed and gloomy. But thankfully, it didn't rain.

Zhou Yang drove his car, following behind the traffic.

It wasn't very congested, but it still took more than 30 minutes to reach the cemetery in the suburbs.

The cemetery is built on a small hill, and people who come to sweep the tombs can only walk up the hill, while all cars are parked in the parking lot at the entrance at the foot of the hill.

After parking the car, Zhou Yang, carrying large and small bags, followed the crowd up the mountain.

The park is very large, but it was crowded with people visiting the graves. The air was filled with the smell of incense, and the atmosphere was quite stuffy, but no one complained. Everyone's face was solemn, and even the children didn't cry.

Following the route in his memory, Zhou Yang arrived at the tombstone where his parents were buried together.

A black-and-white photograph is embedded in the cold stone tablet. Due to long-term exposure to sun and rain, the photo has long lost its former luster and appears dull and lifeless.

Nevertheless, one can still vaguely discern the features of the couple in the photograph. The man was handsome and cheerful, always smiling; the woman was gentle and graceful, serene and tender. Their faces are frozen in time on this stone tablet, forever preserved in that most beautiful moment.

"Dad, Mom, I've come to see you again."

First, I took out a small pot of chrysanthemums and a pot of baby's breath from the bag and placed them in front of the tombstone. Baby's breath is my mother's favorite flower.

"The chrysanthemums are for Dad. You never pick and choose anyway, so it's okay. The baby's breath is for Mom, because you love it the most."

After saying that, he took out a rag and carefully wiped the tombstone, then cleaned up the scattered branches around the tombstone and the few weeds growing in the crevices.

After doing all that, Zhou Yang returned to the grave and laid out several of her parents' favorite foods.

"Mom, your favorite red bean glutinous rice cake! And peanuts and beer, to satisfy Dad's craving."

"Mom and Dad, Yangyang misses you so much."

Zhou Yang's eyes suddenly felt a little sore.

"I think I had a dream last night, but it didn't quite feel like a dream. Several hours have passed since I woke up, but I can still remember it clearly. Do you think... it really was a dream?"

"The apocalypse...that's ridiculous...it's not a movie..."

"Right, that's really outrageous..."

While quietly complaining to her parents about the tombstone, Zhou Yang put the prepared paper money into the incinerator next to her and burned it. This was specially placed here by the cemetery for people who come to sweep the tombs.

I talked to my parents for a long time, until my legs were numb from squatting, before I realized that I had been in the cemetery for more than an hour without realizing it.

"Mom and Dad, it's almost time, so I'll head back now. I'll come see you again during the next long holiday."

Zhou Yang rubbed her legs and staggered to her feet.

After cleaning up the trash, he took one last look at his parents' portraits on the tombstone before turning and leaving.

Back in the car, while it was warming up, Zhou Yang checked the news online on his phone. The homepages of major websites were still filled with Qingming Festival greetings, and the occasional news items were nothing more than trivial matters, nothing major.

I checked the time again; it wasn't even 8 o'clock yet.

After putting down his phone, Zhou Yang drove home.

The journey was smooth until we were almost in the city on the way back, when we got stuck in traffic.

Not to mention the little donkeys next to them, even bicycles can walk faster than them.

Seeing that he couldn't get through the traffic at two more red lights, Zhou Yang idly opened his phone and started browsing the news. He'd only scrolled a couple of times when a headline popped up—an elderly woman living alone had set herself on fire in front of a luxury mansion in S City and died instantly!

Along with the self-immolation incident came to light, a complicated car accident case involving the self-immolating elderly man and the owner of the luxury house also surfaced, exactly the same as the one in my dream.

As Zhou Yang watched the news, his hand holding the phone trembled uncontrollably.

He really... was reborn!

In his dream... no, it wasn't a dream, it was his personal experience from his past life!

"drop!--"

Suddenly, the piercing sound of a horn coming from behind startled him awake.

Zhou Yang forced himself to calm down and focus on driving.

He needs to go home first.

After being stuck in traffic for another ten minutes or so, Zhou Yang finally made it home safely.

As soon as Zhou Yang got home, he turned on his computer and reviewed the contents of his document. He then added a lot of content that he hadn't written before.

It was two hours later when I finally put down my laptop.

Zhou Yang felt somewhat depressed.

The end times may have been foreshadowed long ago.

An unprecedented, sustained heatwave; a 9.5 magnitude earthquake that struck an area not in an earthquake zone; migration of birds and animals in many places; and a super typhoon that wreaked havoc on almost all coastal cities from south to north…

But nobody takes these things to heart, not even the government or the country.

By the time the apocalyptic fog arrived, it was too late...

The apocalyptic virus broke out without anyone being prepared.

At first, the government tried to control the spread of the virus and maintain public order, but in just half a month, almost all cities fell and the state apparatus was paralyzed.

Zombies roam every street and alley, and the blood of the living is spilled all over every inch of the city.

The survivors were forced to leave the city and their homes, rebuild their bases, and band together to survive.

But what's more terrifying than natural disasters and zombies is man-made disaster.

Thinking of the various acts of burning, killing, and looting in the apocalypse, as well as the cause of his own death, Zhou Yang couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Now that he's been reborn, he naturally needs to make plans early this time. However, he's just an ordinary person who just graduated and hasn't even finished his internship, so he can only take care of himself first.

As for other people, or even countries, even if he spoke out, he'd probably be considered crazy. He'll wait for the right time, then post some apocalyptic-related messages online to warn everyone. Whether they believe it or not, that's up to fate.

Zhou Yang started making a plan for herself on the computer, listing out in detail the remaining time, the things that needed to be done, and the necessary supplies.

First, we need to make as much money as possible.

He used all the savings his parents left him for his education, leaving him with practically nothing. As for stocks and funds, since he didn't know how or have time to monitor them, he withdrew about 50 yuan at the time and deposited it in the bank along with the 300 million yuan or so he received from the insurance company. His three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment, also left by his parents, is in a good school district and could probably be sold for 500 million yuan at current prices. With some online loans, he could potentially get around 100 million yuan more. He shouldn't have to worry about finances.

His family lived in a coastal area, where they had already suffered greatly from natural disasters in the early stages of the apocalypse, and now they would face the threat of the ocean. He first needed to rent a suitable house in a safe base closer to the inland from his previous life, and then he would have to make some modifications. The existing renovations could survive the early natural disasters, but they might not be able to withstand the superhumans and mutated beasts of the apocalypse, and were not safe enough.

Last but not least, supplies.

From water and food to medicine and gasoline, and then to outdoor survival supplies, Zhou Yangzai meticulously listed several tables.

Even if he had enough money to buy everything, such a large amount of supplies wouldn't fit in even the biggest house; he needed to find a safe place...

But in the apocalypse, where is there any safe place?

He was secretly worried, and his hand unconsciously reached for the jade pendant around his neck.

Before I knew it, a sharp pain shot through my thumb.

Looking down, I saw that my thumb had been cut by the metal clasp of the jade pendant, and blood immediately seeped out from the cut, staining the jade pendant.

Just as Zhou Yang was about to wipe it with a tissue, she noticed that the bloodstains on the jade pendant had disappeared and were even faintly glowing.

"This……"

Looking at the jade pendant in his hand, Zhou Yang couldn't help but gasp. Before he could figure it out, the jade pendant suddenly shone brightly, and he felt dizzy and disappeared from the spot.